As followers are well aware, I LOVE Canada Reads.  I love the lead up to the event, reading books from the long list, reading ALL the books from the short-list,  following the event and best of all attending this literary knock out event!  Gladys Dance Gladys was a light read (lol – listen) for commuting, taken from the long-list.  It is a book that I would not have chosen had it not been connected with Canada Reads.

The reader gets to know Freida and her struggles.  She saw herself as a failed artist, had ended a relationship, had no place to live and needed to find a job.  She answered a unique classified ad, found a room, living with an elderly man when she met Gladys. Not having read the back cover of this book, it was a surprise to find out that Gladys was a ghost – a ghost who Freida came to know and helped her talk through many issues.

The story was amusing to listen to but I am honestly surprised that it made the Canada Reads short list which was chock full of more serious subjects for debating.  This book read like a young adult (YA) novel yet had more mature subjects.  Having said that, I did enjoy the quirky cast of characters who had me chuckling and found this book to be a palate-cleanser between more serious storylines.